Spending Projections for Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security

December 16, 2014

Where are your tax dollars going? Romina Boccia of the Heritage Foundation has compiled a new report on federal spending in 2014, demonstrating just how many dollars are going towards Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security -- and how that spending is only expected to grow. According to Boccia:

In 2014, federal spending on health care programs was $962 billion. It will reach $1.9 trillion by 2024, more than doubling over 10 years.

The biggest health care program, Medicare, will see a spending increase of 72 percent between 2014 and 2024, rising from $603 billion to $1.04 trillion.

$305 billion was spent on Medicaid this year, a figure that will skyrocket to $570 billion in 2024. It is the fastest-growing of the major entitlements.

The United States spent $845 billion on Social Security this year, but that number will balloon to $1.5 trillion in 2024.

Why are entitlements growing so fast? One of the main reasons is Obamacare, according to Boccia, who notes that 44 percent of major entitlement spending growth over the next 10 years is due to Obamacare, including its Medicaid expansion. America's aging population is responsible for another 43 percent of that spending growth, while rising health care costs are responsible for 13 percent of the projected growth.